Technology developers may sell a dream to traders that they can sit on the beach with an anti-glare screen doing precisely what they do in the office. But remote trading is being challenged as impractical and inefficient by those responsible for generating profits. Heads of asset managers’ dealing rooms argue there is nothing like human contact for exchanging ideas and nothing beats the office for executing split-second trades.

Frederic Ponzo, managing partner of GreySpark Partners, a capital markets consulting firm, said: "Although it might sound cool to trade on your iPad in the back garden, it does not make professional or business sense. There are security and compliance issues but equally as important are investment ideas.